Prime-brow ideas are so ceaselessly the spine of serious prog tune, yet they may be able to even be too critical for their very own excellent. Fortunately, Chicago’s Refestramus weave each heavy subjects and unusual, comedic becomes their 2nd and well-balanced album, Intouríst.
Whilst its narrative is colored through deep-thinking moments that discover emotional intensity and resilience, in addition to casting glances on the supernatural, it doesn’t put out of your mind to have a bit of a laugh alongside the best way. That’s why you’ll in finding songs that constitution love, tragedy, and herbal variety, in addition to sex-crazed lizards and love struck zombies. No subject is off limits.
Spearheaded through drummer, lyricist and leader composer, Derek Ferguson, and named after a phrase his mom made as much as imply rearrange, Refestramus are critical progheads and playful songwriters all of the identical. They enhance their artwork rock basis with modern and jazz-lacquered histrionics, along components of neoclassical, melodic and psychedelic rock for a various palette.
The album has been christened through Ferguson as a “prog rock prayer made manifest” and its cocktail of ‘70s prog influences makes it really feel straight away acquainted and pleasant. Flashes of the sudden, although, make sure that Intouríst isn’t any mere tribute act.
Ferguson had began the undertaking in 2020 as some way of entertaining himself all the way through the pandemic. He whiled away the hours through patch running his love for quite a lot of large title and difficult to understand prog bands together with his personal compositions.
He then tapped up Colouratura manufacturer, Ian Beabout, to present his debut album – 2021’s Decoupage – an additional dose of dynamism. In doing so, the pair come across a successful system. The file used to be nicely won severely and skilfully catapulted the band into the fresh prog scene.
Now, Refestramus have advanced right into a band right kind. On Intouríst, Ferguson (drums) is joined through every other Colouratura member, Derek Pavlic (guitars, mellotron, and vocoder) in addition to keyboardist Rogelio Souza, bassist Jerry King (Moon X, Cloud over Jupiter), and a wealthy forged of vocalists. The ones vocalists come with Craig Cairns, NIDA, and Vedrana Lina, who all assist galvanise the file’s serious-but-silly storytelling.
In all probability the truth the Lakeview neighbourhood of Chicago welcomes weirdness with such open hands has helped the band dive additional into their abnormal aspect on Intouríst.
“We adore being primarily based in Lakeview,” says Ferguson. “I used to be in the street dressed as Gandalf for this photograph shoot on a Tuesday at 11am and nobody used to be stunned – in truth, with reference to everybody passing through commented on how cool it used to be…one individual even requested me to place a spell on any person!”
The rush and pull between the philosophical and the preposterous is paramount to Refestramus’ allure. For each and every probing tale, like The Purple Apple’s retelling of Maxim Gorky’s deadly love tale that brings subject matters of rejection and longing to the fore, there are songs so off-the-wall that just a prog band may inform them.
The stupidly stupendous Agent M vs. the Intercourse Lizard, which takes its cues from the scandalous televangelist, Sharon Gilbert, is one such instance. Again in 2021, Gilbert claimed that her husband used to be as soon as impersonated through a sex-crazed lizard demon, and that it attempted to coax her into the bed room. Understandably, this X-rated story raised quite a lot of eyebrows and garnered quite a lot of media consideration.
Lyrics like ‘Sheets went flying like a dacron snow fall, then I noticed this used to be one sexy lizard’ are not more likely to make it onto an Emerson, Lake and Palmer album, yet that is precisely the purpose. Underscored through a large band-styled pomp, the band’s tongue stays firmly in its collective cheek during the quick yet candy observe.
Uniquely, the band has won one thing of a cult standing in Paraguay. Regardless of being some 5,000 miles clear of their Chicago base, their tune has been performed on nationwide radio, and with Asunción – named after the capital town – they pay tribute to their South American fanbase.
Sunshine almost oozes from its asado-tinged undercurrent, with its lyrics referencing one of the band’s favorite Paraguayan spots. There’s even a Spanish-language model to be had as an advantage observe.
The Satan Returns, deemed through Ferguson because the file’s proggiest observe, could also be their maximum cinematic. Its huge, synth-propelled intro provides means for a Mikhail Bulgakov (The Grasp and Margarita) flavoured music that sees its devilish protagonist reflecting on an evolving global whilst “I keep the similar.”
In a single sense, the observe is light-years clear of its sex-lizard observe counterpart and the hip-swinging Mr Darwin, which Ferguson calls “a light-hearted tackle human survival and herbal variety”, but the trio of songs all in finding their house on a various and well-paced file.
In other places, Aspect Hustle guidelines its hat to one in all Ferguson’s favorite prog bands, Jethro Tull, whilst the 11+ minute Intouríst Suite – which contains the attractive lizard anthem – blends classical compositions with the whole lot from electronica to funk as advanced and oddball moments intertwine with panache.
Certainly, two of those tracks have been in the past launched on 2022 EP, From the Chic to the Ridiculous, yet with Intouríst the band has dialled up each extremities of the their sound. It makes for a kaleidoscopic affair that manages to pay homage to prog rock majesty while concurrently blowing raspberries at it. It’s a good looking dichotomy.
The band will rejoice the file’s long-awaited unlock with an internet listening birthday celebration by way of their Bandcamp web page on April 27, 18:00 GMT (12:00 CST). The development will come with a play via of Intouríst in its entirety, in addition to insights and remark round its introduction from the musicians at the back of it. Ferguson and co. will regale behind-the-scenes tales and have interaction with viewing lovers, answering their questions and sparking a colourful dialog masking all issues modern and Refestramus.
Intouríst celebrates its legitimate unlock on Might 4, when it turns into to be had in CD and virtual codecs.
For more info in regards to the listening birthday celebration and to reserve a replica of Intouríst, head to https://refestramus.bandcamp.com/album/intour-st
